The EYSH is a haunted-looking Victorian that hasn't seen fresh paint since Lyndon Johnson was president, and the endless yard sale represents the efforts of the owners to get rid of the stuff left behind by the long-deceased compulsive hoarder who once lived there. Mostly crap, but a couple bucks is a decent deal for a pair of photo albums (one entitled "A Child Becomes A Woman," documenting the life of a girl from her birth in the mid-1930s through graduation from Alameda High School, and the other a 1942 "Service Album" chronicling a soldier's experiences in various Army camps in New England).

I'll probably drop off these photos at the Alameda Historical Society, but first: Ennui Countermeasure! We've got five photographs, each with a car in the background. You must identify all five.

A couple are slam-dunks, but the blurry 1930s sedan might prove a challenge. A copy of the Standard Catalog Of American Cars 1805-1942 will help here. OK, you want to prove your Detroit Iron expertise? Here's your chance!

Here's proof that we're looking at some very early Alameda DOTS photos: using an address on a school ID card taped inside the photo album as a starting point, I was able to do a little Google Maps sleuthing to find the location of the scene in the previous photograph. Fast-forward 70 years and go about a block away and you'll find a '66 Mercedes-Benz 200D!

Click on the photo of any engine below to jump to the original post honoring that engine.

Toyota R	Ford Flathead V8	BMW M30
Nissan L	Small-Block Chevrolet V8	Volkswagen Air-Cooled
BMC B Series	Chrysler Slant Six	Rolls-Royce V8
Honda B	GMC Twin Six	Jaguar XK
Pontiac V8	Mazda B	Fiat Twin-Cam
Porsche Flat Six	Offenhauser	Willys Go-Devil
Chrysler LA	Packard Inline 8	Mazda 13B
Crosley COBRA	Volvo Red Block	Subaru EJ
AMC Straight Six	Citroën Type A	Toyota A
Ford Windsor V8	Mercedes-Benz OM617	Nissan SR
Chrysler Trans Four	Chevrolet D V8	Ford Modular
Chrysler A57 Multibank	Ford OHC	Honda D
Buick Nailhead	Buick 215/Rover V8	BMW M10
Volkswagen W	Chrysler IV2220 V16	MEMZ-968
Lotus 900 Series	Ford 385	Mercedes-Benz M100 V8
Chrysler B V8	Toyota M	General Motors LS
Honda F20C	Alfa Romeo Twin Cam	Yamaha SHO V6
BMW M70 V12	Mitsubishi Sirius	Saab H
GM Iron Duke	Coventry Climax FW/FP	Ferrari Dino V6/V8/V12
Ford FE V8	BMC A	Audi 4.2 V8
Big-Block Chevrolet V8	BMW M20	Fiat SOHC
Chrysler Flathead Six	Saab 2-Stroke	Oldsmobile Gen 2 V8
Suzuki G	PRV V6	Cadillac OHV V8
Hudson Six	Nissan VH	Ford Model T
Buick V6	Nissan VG

See, if you're serious about Porsches- and what Porsche zealot isn't?- you want a book about Ferdinand Porsche, the father of the brand, to pack some heft! You'll need a level of detail that's so overwhelmingly, in fact alarmingly, obsessive that you'll learn something new on every page.

This is such a book. Nearly 500 pages, a bonanza of Über-Geeky technical details (ever wonder how Ferdinand managed to make the connecting-rod arrangement work in a W9 aircraft engine in 1917?), and eleventy-million vintage photographs. On top of that, you get eight gorgeous, porn-grade foldout color pages with cutaway illustrations by artist Wolfgang Franke, featuring such machines as the 1922 Austro-Daimler ADS-R and the 1936 Auto Union C-Type. This thing- which weighs about as much as a manhole cover- is definitely one of the most beautiful car books I've ever seen, and it will make the other car books on your coffee table look like Go, Dog Go.

But hey, now that I've mentioned Porsche's role in designing the Auto Union race cars, we've got to address the most troubling aspect of Genesis Of Genius: its treatment of Ferdinand's activities once Hitler and the National Socialist Party came to power. Here's what we get on that subject: deafening silence. The narrative reaches the early 1930s and then… starts… treading… very… carefully… among… the… land mines. For example, the Auto Union racers were pure propaganda tools for the Third Reich, just like their athletes in the '36 Olympics- surely Porsche had some comments on the subject at the time? Not in this book. As Ludvigsen states in the preface: "This account of Ferdinand Porsche's career stops short of detailed description of the well-known achievements that some consider his greatest, the Auto Union racer and the Volkswagen. Thus we've characterized these years as the Genesis Of Genius." A cop-out? Sure! Perhaps acceptable in a straight-up wank job of a book aimed at the most devoted of single-interest car geeks, but we're dealing with a high-quality, obsessively researched and well-executed biography here and such omissions say something- is ominous too strong a word?- about the author's expectations of his readership.

So, because I'm an elitist biography snob who gets offended when the subject's warts get airbrushed out (I'm reading this book at the moment), I'm going to deduct a rod from the highest possible 5-rod rating (in honor of the Mercedes-Benz OM617) and give this book four rods. Murilee says check it out!

Images reprinted with permission from Ferdinand Porsche—Genesis of Genius by Karl Ludvigsen, © Bentley Publishers, all rights reserved.
[Bentley Publishers]

Just click on the thumbnail image of any of the cars below to jump to the original post, complete with photo gallery. Not sure what's going on? Head on over to the Down On The Street FAQ!

1919 Ford	1924 Ford	1932 Ford	1937 Cadillac
1937 Beardmore	1939 Chevrolet	1941 Chevrolet	1942 Pontiac
1943 IHC	1945 Ford	1946 Chevrolet	1947 Plymouth
1948 IHC	1949 Chevrolet	1950 Dodge	1950 Ford
1950 Ford	1950 Plymouth	1950 Pontiac	1951 Dodge
1951 Willys	1951 Dodge	1952 Dodge	1953 GMC
1952 Dodge	1953 Packard	1953 Chevrolet	1953 Citroën
1953 MG	1954 Chevrolet	1954 Ford	1955 Mercury
1955 Chevrolet	1955 Plymouth	1956 Chevrolet	1956 Imperial
1956 Lincoln	1956 Volkswagen	1956 Morris	1956 Willys
1956 Ford	1957 Volkswagen	1957 Cadillac	1957 Chevrolet
1957 Chrysler	1957 Pontiac	1958 Willys	1958 Mercedes-Benz
1959 Porsche	1959 Morris	1959 Volkswagen	1959 Volkswagen
1960 Cadillac	1960 Triumph	1960 Cadillac	1960 Cadillac
1960 Peugeot	1960 Mercury	1960 Ford	1960 Studebaker
1960 Chevrolet	1960 Rambler	1960 Volkswagen	1961 Plymouth
1961 Morris	1961 Rambler	1961 Chevrolet	1961 Ford
1961 Plymouth	1962 Chrysler	1962 Chevrolet	1962 Chevrolet
1962 Chevrolet	1962 Dodge	1962 Ford	1962 Chrysler
1962 Volkswagen	1963 Chevrolet	1963 Land Rover	1963 Ford
1963 Volvo	1963 Ford	1963 Chevrolet	1963 Chevrolet
1963 Chevrolet	1963 GMC	1963 Porsche	1964 Pontiac
1964 Volkswagen	1964 Chevrolet	1964 Chevrolet	1964 Studebaker
1964 Volkswagen	1964 Checker	1964 Chrysler	1964 Ford
1964 Imperial	1964 Mercury	1964 Chevrolet	1964 Dodge
1964 Ford	1964 Jeep	1964 Chevrolet	1964 Chevrolet
1964 Oldsmobile	1964 Dodge	1965 Austin Cooper S	1965 Volkswagen
1965 Chevrolet	1965 Mercury	1965 Volkswagen	1965 Plymouth
1965 Chevrolet	1965 Volkswagen	1965 Chevrolet	1965 Ford
1965 Plymouth	1965 Alfa Romeo	1965 Ford	1965 IHC
1965 Volkswagen	1965 Chevrolet	1965 Chevrolet	1965 Mercury
1965 Plymouth	1965 Chevrolet	1965 Dodge	1965 Ford
1965 Chevrolet	1965 Chevrolet	1965 Ford	1965 Rambler
1965 Ford	1965 Ford	1965 Ford	1966 Lincoln
1966 Ford	1966 Ford	1966 Ford	1966 Ford
1966 Dodge	1966 Volvo	1966 Dodge	1965 Mercedes-Benz
1966 Pontiac	1966 Porsche	1966 Dodge	1966 Ford
1966 Datsun	1966 GMC	1966 Jaguar	1966 Lancia
1966 Plymouth	1966 Volkswagen	1966 Mercedes-Benz	1966 Chevrolet
1966 Ford	1966 Cadillac	1966 Mercedes-Benz	1966 Ford
1966 Buick	1966 Volkswagen	1966 Volvo	1967 Ford
1967 Mercury	1967 Chevrolet	1967 Ford	1967 Chevrolet
1967 Plymouth	1967 Porsche	1967 Imperial	1967 Galaxie
1967 Volkswagen	1967 Buick	1967 Porsche	1967 Plymouth
1967 Oldsmobile	1968 GMC	1968 Plymouth	1968 Mercury
1968 Mercedes-Benz	1968 Mercedes-Benz	1968 Ford	1968 GMC
1968 Pontiac	1968 Ford	1968 Porsche	1968 Chevrolet
1968 Ford	1968 Buick	1969 Dodge	1969 AMC
1969 Chevrolet	1969 Volkswagen	1969 Volkswagen	1969 Mercury
1969 Chevrolet	1969 Ford	1969 Cadillac	1969 Ford
1969 Buick	1969 Volkswagen	1969 Chevrolet	1969 Cadillac
1969 Cadillac	1969 Mercury	1969 Chevrolet	1969 Lincoln
1969 Oldsmobile	1969 Dodge	1969 Dodge	1969 Datsun
1969 AMC	1969 Ford	1969 Morris	1969 Ford
1969 Buick	1969 MG	1969 Ford	1969 Citroën
1969 Chevrolet	1969 Cadillac	1969 Volvo	1969 Volvo
1970 Ford	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Ford	1970 Chrysler
1970 Cadillac	1970 Dodge	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Chevrolet
1970 Chevrolet	1970 Lincoln	1970 Dodge	1970 Volkswagen
1970 Ford	1970 Ford	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Datsun
1970 Datsun	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Porsche	1970 Dodge
1970 Chevrolet	1970 Puma	1970 Buick	1970 Volvo
1970 Volkswagen	1971 Datsun	1971 Volvo	1971 Datsun
1971 Oldsmobile	1971 Chevrolet	1971 Chevrolet	1971 Chrysler
1971 Imperial	1971 Chrysler	1971 Chevrolet	1971 Datsun
1971 Chevrolet	1971 Ford	1971 GMC	1971 Volkswagen
1971 Volkswagen	1971 Toyota	1971 Volkswagen	1971 Buick
1971 Chevrolet	1971 MG	1971 Plymouth	1971 Plymouth
1971 Volkswagen	1971 Plymouth	1971 Plymouth	1972 Mercedes-Benz
1972 BMW	1972 Volkswagen	1972 BMW	1972 IHC
1972 IHC	1972 Volkswagen	1972 Datsun	1972 Porsche
1972 IHC	1972 Chevrolet	1972 Triumph	1972 Plymouth
1972 Lincoln	1972 Mercury	1972 Steyr	1973 BMW
1973 Volkswagen	1973 Chevrolet	1973 Mercury	1973 Opel
1973 Chevrolet	1973 Buick	1973 Chevrolet	1973 Volvo
1973 Capri	1973 Chevrolet	1973 Chevrolet	1973 Mercury
1973 Datsun	1973 Buick	1973 Ford	1973 Pontiac
1973 Dodge	1973 Mercedes-Benz	1973 Datsun	1973 MG
1973 Ford	1973 Ford	1973 Buick	1973 Plymouth
1973 Chevrolet	1973 Volkswagen	1973 Volkswagen	1973 Volkswagen
1973 BMW	1974 Buick	1974 Chevrolet	1974 Volkswagen
1974 Chevrolet	1974 BMW	1974 BMW	1974 Chevrolet
1974 Datsun	1974 Mercedes-Benz	1974 Ford	1974 Ford
1974 Apollo	1974 Porsche	1974 Porsche	1974 Plymouth
1974 Volkswagen	1974 Jensen-Healey	1974 Ford	1975 BMW
1975 Datsun	1975 Ford	1975 Toyota	1975 Citroën
1975 Mercury	1975 Chevrolet	1975 MG	1975 Pontiac
1975 Chevrolet	1975 BMW	1975 Dodge	1976 BMW
1976 BMW	1976 Ford	1976 AMC	1976 Buick
1975 Unimog	1976 Honda	1976 Cadillac	1976 IHC
1976 Buick	1977 Ford	1977 Chevrolet	1977 Plymouth
1977 Honda	1977 Chevrolet	1977 Cadillac	1977 Chevrolet
1977 Toyota	1977 Toyota	1977 Lincoln	1977 Ford
1977 Fiat	1977 Ford	1977 IHC	1977 Mercedes-Benz
1977 Chevrolet	1977 Oldsmobile	1977 Oldsmobile	1977 Volvo
1978 Datsun	1978 Chrysler	1978 Dodge	1978 Honda
1978 Pontiac	1978 Dodge	1978 Dodge	1978 Dodge
1978 Cadillac	1978 Chevrolet	1978 Jaguar	1978 Saab
1978 Pontiac	1978 Chevrolet	1979 Mercedes-Benz	1979 Porsche
1979 Porsche	1979 Chevrolet	1979 Datsun	1979 Honda
1979 Ford	1979 Chevrolet	1979 Ford	1979 Cadillac
1979 Shay	1980 Porsche	1980 Plymouth	1980 Datsun
1980 Honda	1980 Datsun	1980 Plymouth	1980 IHC
1980 Volvo	1981 Datsun	1981 Toyota	1981 Volkswagen
1981 Datsun	1981 Mazda	1981 Fiat	1982 Mercedes-Benz
1982 Datsun	1982 Mercedes-Benz	1982 Mercedes-Benz	1982 BMW
1982 Honda	1982 Mazda	1982 Volkswagen	1982 Toyota
1982 Fiat	1983 Honda	1983 BMW	1983 Toyota
1983 BMW	1983 BMW	1983 Jeep	1983 Volkswagen
1983 Nissan	1983 Toyota	1984 Porsche	1984 Toyota
1984 Cadillac	1984 Toyota	1984 Jeep	1984 BMW
1984 Toyota	1984 Jaguar	1984 Toyota	1984 Toyota
1984 Buick	1984 Plymouth	1985 Alfa Romeo	1985 Toyota
1985 Cadillac	1985 Mazda	1985 Pontiac	1985 Volkswagen
1985 Saab	1985 Toyota	1985 Toyota	1985 Toyota
1985 Peugeot	1985 Porsche	1986 Dodge	1986 BMW
1986 Toyota	1986 Toyota	1986 Ford	1986 Jaguar
1986 Toyota	1986 Dodge	1986 Honda	1986 Pontiac
1986 Ford	1987 Porsche	1987 BMW	1987 Mercedes-Benz
1987 Volkswagen	1987 BMW	1987 BMW	1987 Honda
1987 Toyota	1987 Merkur	1987 Mitsubishi	1987 Subaru
1988 Porsche	1988 CMC	1988 Renault	1988 Peugeot
1988 Mitsubishi	1989 Ferrari	1989 Alfa Romeo	1989 Subaru
1989 Chevrolet	1989 Volkswagen	1990 Buick	1990 Chrysler
1991 Peugeot	1991 Alfa Romeo	1991 Rolls-Royce	2000 Fieroborghini

Even 20 years is a long, long time in automotive-design years, and so we've established that as the cutoff for this list. We're not talking about model names that have been around forever (e.g., Crown Victoria, Century, Bluebird), but a particular chassis/generation of a car that remained fundamentally unchanged over its lifespan. We're not including light trucks, mostly because it's damn near impossible to sort out Soviet military stuff. Obviously, a lot of quasi-arbitrary judgment calls had to be made with some of the candidates- does a different engine or totally restyled body make for a distinct vehicle?- and so we're confident that we've provided something to enrage every one of you, be it a car that totally qualified that we blew off or a totally undeserving car that we sneaked into the list. For example, were there differences between the first few generations of the Ford Fiesta sufficient to make that car ineligible for this list? We said yes, which Fiesta zealots will no doubt consider to be fatwa-grade heresy. In any case, we've probably made some mistakes, and we've definitely missed some cars that belonged on the list. Fire away with the hate mail, by all means!

Things get somewhat sticky when it comes to Fiats built outside of Italy. We think the Polski Fiat 125p shouldn't get lumped in with either the Fiat 125 or the Fiat 1300/1500, it being a cost-cutting mashup of the two, so we're giving this 24-year veteran its own place of honor in the Jalopnik Cars Of Immortality Hall Of Fame. Likewise, by the time VAZ got around to the VAZ-2107 (aka Lada Riva), its design had diverged sufficiently from its Fiat 124 ancestry that we consider it and the 124 to be separate cars. You 124 fanatics don't need to fret about that outrage, though- thanks to production in India and Egypt, the 124 doesn't need the later Ladas to nail down 31 years.

You may have noted the conspicuous shortage of American machinery in this list; other than the first-gen Ford Falcon (built in Argentina until the 1990s) and the Checker Marathon, there were no easy calls to be made for American manufacturers. We've included the rear-wheel-drive GM T Body, because of the bewildering swarm of Kadetts, Chevettes, I-Marks, and low-production South American clones that flew forth from that design; we're saying 21 years for the T, and you're free to argue your guts out about it. How about the GM B platform, which stayed in service from the '61 Buick Invicta to the '96 Chevy Caprice? The General performed nearly half a dozen major redesigns of the B platform over the decades, and not enough components interchange between one B generation and the next for it to be considered the same car for 20 solid years. Same goes for the Ford Panther platform (1979-present) and the hordes of Chrysler K derivatives (eternity). The Model T was only made for 19 years, so it doesn't make the list (unless someone can dig up some proof that it was being bootlegged in the Maldives), nor does the Willys Aero, even with all those years of production in Brazil. What really broke our hearts was the Rambler American/Renault Torino, which almost made the list at 18 years of production in Wisconsin and Argentina (we were looking for loopholes to prove that the '64 Rambler American was actually a cosmetic facelift of an earlier version, but no dice).

This project got really challenging when we got to Chinese-built versions of Japanese and Korean cars. The line between "facelifted license-built copy" and "based on heavily modified chassis design" gets increasingly blurry in China, and most likely we've overlooked a couple of 20+ year Chinese versions of Mazdas or Suzukis. Chinese Volkswagens were a lot easier to figure out, but how about Malaysian Mitsubishi clones- or are they clones?- sold in China? Ai-ya!

Here we go, fifty cars that were built for 20 years or longer, as close as we could get to the right order:

Volkswagen Type 1
65 years (1938-2003)
The Beetle was built in Germany from 1938 through 1980, which would have put it in second place on our list, behind the Mini but just in front of the 2CV. However, production in Brazil (1950-1996) and Mexico (1955-2003) gives the little Ferdinand Porsche-designed ass-engine air-cooler a whopping 22-year-edge over the Mini.

Morris Oxford / Hindustan Ambassador
55 years (1954-present)
The case could be made that the previous generation of the Oxford, which debuted in 1948, was similar enough to the '54 that the Oxford/Ambassador deserves 61 years instead of 55. However, the Amby is still being made! That means the much-beloved little Indian car has a shot at catching the Beetle. Engines have come and gone (the '09 Amby has Isuzu power), but the essential Oxford-ness of the car remains.

Austin Mini
43 years (1957-2000)
An Old Mini with airbags? Yes, the car that started the front-wheel-drive/hatchback revolution managed to stay relevant into the current century. Park one of these next to one of those BMW-built imitators and you'll see what a small car really looks like!

Citroën 2CV
41 years (1949-1990)
How much power does a car really need? Ask a Citroën engineer in the late 40s and he'd tell you: nine horsepower! Later models had nearly four times that, with 33 horses being the max from the factory. Of course, some had a little more than that when they went racing. Nearly four million were made.

Fiat 128 / Zastava Skala / Nasr 128 / SEAT 128
40 years (1969-present)
How many versions of the groundbreaking front-driver 128 are out there? Why, even Enzo Ferrari drove one! In addition to being a huge hit in Europe, where it was built until 1985, Zastava continues to build 128s (branded as the Zastava 55) to this day; as of last year, you could still get an Egyptian-made Nasr 128.

Austin FX4
39 years (1958-1997)
We can't include the Checker Marathon in this list without also including the most iconic of the old London Black Cabs. The FX4 was built by different manufacturers over the years and went through quite a few engines, but it remained essentially the same vehicle. Two Austins in the Top Ten!
Image source

Fiat 1100 / Premier Padmini
38 years (1962-2000)
Clearly, the key to getting your car built for a few extra decades is to make Indian buyers love it. As the Fiat 1100, this car was done in Italy by 1969, but India's Premier Automobiles Limited kept on making the 1100 (badged as the Padmini) until 2000.
Image source

Hillman Hunter / Iran Khodro Paykan
37 years (1967-2004)
Hey, Rootes Group machinery survived into the 21st century! The Paykan got Peugeot power eventually, but it remained a Hillman at heart. Paykan production equipment was sold to a Sudanese company a few years back, though we've had no news so far of any gleaming new Paykans being built there. Wait a couple of decades and we may see the Paykan hang in there to beat the Beetle's longevity record!
Image source

Peugeot 504
37 years (1968-2005)
The 504 was built for 15 years in France, then continued production in Argentina until 1999. Africans still loved the 504 after that, with production continuing in Kenya (2004) and Nigeria (2005). Don't be shocked if someone starts building the 504 once again.

Renault 12 / Dacia 1300
37 years (1969-2006)
The 12 was yet another Renault success story, with production on five continents and millions sold. The last Renault-branded 12 was built in Turkey in 1999, but Romanian automaker Dacia made the 12-clone Dacia 1300/1310 until just a few years ago.
Image source

Fiat 131 / SEAT 131 / Tofaş Murat 131
35 years (1974-present)
Also known as the Brava and Mirafiori, the 131 had ten years of Italian production, then lived on in Spain, Turkey, and now Ethiopia.
Image source

Volkswagen Golf Mk1
35 years (1974-present)
Yes, you can still buy the first version of the biggest-selling VW car since the air-cooled Beetle! South Africans love the Mk1 Golf so much that they've been making them since 1974.

Renault 4
33 years (1961-1994)
Usually, a Renault made for more than 30 years indicates that some Warsaw Pact nation built it under license for a couple of decades past the point of relevance in the home market. Not so with the 4! Intended as competition for the hugely successful Citroën 2CV, the Renault 4 outlived its rival by four years.
Image source

Moskvitch 408/412
33 years (1964-1997)
You'll have to pick up the definitive guide to Soviet cars to get the whole Moskvitch 408 story, but here's one fun fact: when the hard-currency-strapped Soviet Union started importing Moskvitches to the UK, the price tag for this fairly substantial car was £22 less than the tiny Mini. Including cars made by the Izhevsk Mechanical Works, the 408/412 stayed in production until the late 1990s.

Ford Falcon (first generation)
31 years (1960-1991)
Imagine going to a Ford dealership and having a choice between a new Sierra XR4i and a new '62 Falcon. That's how it went down in Argentina, where facelifted but still recognizable first-generation Falcons were made until 1991. You could even get a diesel Falcon! We're just disappointed that Ford Of Argentina didn't keep building the '69 Fairlane fastback into the 1990s.

Peugeot 404
31 years (1960-1991)
Kenyan production kept the 404 (car of choice for Ho Chi Minh) going for extra decades.
Image Source

Fiat 124 / VAZ-2101 Lada / SEAT 124 / Tofaş Murat 124 / Premier 118NE
31 years (1966-1984, 1986-2001)
Image source

Renault 5 / SAIPA Sepand
30 years (1972-2000)
We North Americans knew the 5 as the Le Car; we missed out on the goofy European 5 ads but we did get some cheezy ones of our own. European production halted in 1996, when the last Slovenian 5 left the assembly line, but Iranian carmaker SAIPA made the 5 (badged as the Sepand) until 2000.
Image source

Vauxhall Victor FE / Hindustan Contessa
30 years (1972-2002)
We could probably stretch the ancestry of the Contessa back another couple of generations of Vauxhall Victors, but 30 years is pretty good. Do the owners of Contessas, with their early-70s British styling, look down on the Ambassador drivers stuck with 40s British design?
Image source

Fiat 126 / Polski Fiat 126p
28 years (1972-2000)
The original Italian-built 126 made it to 1980, but fortunate Polish buyers could get the Polski Fiat version for another 20 years.
Image source

Zastava Koral / Yugo
28 years (1980-2008)
Is this car really a Fiat 128? We think the Koral (aka Yugo) differs enough from its progenitor, and has sufficient history of its own, to merit its own entry in our all-time survivors' list.

Volkswagen Passat Mk2 / Santana
28 years (1981-present)
Is the Mk2 Passat close enough to the Mk1 to move the start date back to 1973? We say it's not. As long as the Chinese keep building Santanas, however, the second-gen Passat will keep moving up in the ranks.

Alfa Romeo Spider
27 years (1966-1993)
Will Alfa freaks be proud that this design stayed in front-line service for so long, or splutter about the changes that "modernized" their car over the years?

GAZ-3102 Volga
27 years (1982-present)
Image source

VAZ-2107 / Lada Riva
27 years (1982-present)
We'll be seeing one of these at the 24 Hours Of LeMons next month!
Image source

Checker Marathon
26 years (1956-1982)
Many different engines, but the Marathon stayed the same.

Mitsubishi Lancer (3rd gen) / Proton Saga
25 years (1983-2008)
How much of the Lancer Fiore remains in today's Saga? Nearly all of it, apparently. Note: the image depicts the non-Lancer-based '09 Saga.
Image source

Daihatsu Charade / FAW Xiali TJ7101
26 years (1983-present)
See how much useful information you can extract from the FAW website about this fine automobile, then let us know if we were totally wrong in assuming that it's still a Charade.
Image source

Fiat Uno
26 years (1983-present)
The Uno was made all over the world, but Brazil is the last Uno holdout, building sedan and wagon versions.
Image source

Porsche 911
25 years (1964-1989)
Was the 911 essentially the same car until the 964 version? Quite a tough call; if we exclude the 911 from the list, we'll be fending off a rain of Molotov cocktails from enraged Porsche fanatics who feel left out. Including it will make many of those same fanatics mail us some Unabomber-style packages, since we're implying that the 911 hasn't always been at the very leading edge of performance-car technology. We decided that sufficient parts interchange between '64 and '89 models to get the 911 on this list.

Fiat 127
25 years (1971-1996)
The Argentinean version of the 127-based Fiat 147 wagon continued until 1996, 16 years after Fiat stopped building the car in Italy.
Image source

Lada Samara
25 years (1984-present)
There's no Fiat content in the all-Russian Samara, and you can still buy yourself one! After the end of the Soviet Union, the Samara got some pretty entertaining commercials.

Volkswagen Jetta Mk 2
25 years (1984-present)
You can still buy the second-gen Jetta in China, where the car is badged as the Jetta King.

Polski Fiat 125p
24 years (1967-1991)
Not really a Fiat 125 (the suspension is from the 1300), we say the 125p is a separate model.
Image source

FSO Polonez
24 years (1978-2002)
It's a Polski Fiat 125p under the skin, but we think the Giorgetto Giugiaro body and variety of engine choices make it a different car.
Image source

Jaguar XJ6 Mk1
24 years (1968-1992)
The original XJ6 was just so good that no major redesigns were needed for those 24 years.

Citroën Traction-Avant
23 years (1934-1957)
The oldest car on this list, the Traction-Avant was so far ahead of its time in the 1930s that it stayed relevant into the Jet Age.

Morris Minor
23 years (1948-1971)

ZAZ-968 Zaporozhets
22 years (1972-1994)
Depending on how you interpret model changes and upgrades, the air-cooled "Soviet Corvair" might qualify for moving up in the ranks of this list... or being dropped from it. Try not to roll it over, comrades!
Image source

Tatra 613
22 years (1974-1996)
Hooray, a Tatra made the list!
Image source

Mazda 121 / Kia Pride / Saipa Pride / Ford Festiva
22 years (1987-present)
Talk about your confusing cascade of captive imports and badge engineering! We're pretty sure that some variety of this car has been in production since 1987.

Peugeot 405
22 years (1987-present)
Peugeot stopped making the 405 in France in 1997, but Iran Khodro continues to build them to this day.

Citroën DS
21 years (1955-1976)
Another example of a car so ahead of its time that Citroën could keep selling it for decades. Too bad the Goddess was so complex; otherwise someone would still be building the DS.

Austin-Healey Sprite / MG Midget
21 years (1958-1979)
Not much about the Spridget changed over its lifetime, other than the addition of big black plastic bumpers and the subtraction of horsepower. Oh, sure, the bug eyes disappeared early on and a few nods to modern technology (e.g., disc brakes) were slapped on, but overall we're dealing with a car that was obsolete from day one and stayed that way throughout its production run (as a Sprite owner, I'm allowed to say such things).

General Motors T Body (RWD)
21 years (1973-1994)
The Chevette, the Acadian, the Kadett C, the Gemini, the I-Mark, the Bird, the Chevanne... the list of cars that The General and his allies built on the rear-wheel-drive T platform goes on and on. Hell, maybe someone is still building the T; our eyes started glazing over after a couple hours of research.

VAZ-1111 Oka
21 years (1988-present)
The Oka appears to have the honor of Most Horrible Economy Car In The World nailed down, but it still sells pretty well in the former Soviet Union.
Image source

Zastava Florida / Nasr Florida
21 years (1988-present)
Image source

Fiat 500 (original)
20 years (1957-1977)
Would you believe that Fiat built the iconic Cinquecento until 1977?
Image source

Saab 99/900
26 years (1968-1994)
As MrB00st and 900pilot have pointed out, the 900 was essentially a lengthened 99, and the 900 went to a new platform in '94. So, 26 years instead of 20.

Suzuki Cultus Gen 2 / Geo Metro / Holden Barina/ etc
20 years (1989-present)
Also known as the Suzuki Swift, this car probably holds the record for most bewildering sequence of model names and licensing deals.

The first Chrysler Flathead Six, a 68-horsepower engine displacing 201 cubic inches, appeared in 1924, and it was still being installed in Dodge Power Wagons and military M37 trucks as late as 1968 (the last of the Flathead Six-powered Chrysler cars rolled off the assembly line in 1959). After that, Chrysler kept making the engine for industrial and farm use well into the 1970s. 50 years, or just close to it? We'll need input from you serious vintage Mopar experts to know for sure!
[Wikipedia, Allpar]

Just click on any of the thumbnail images below to jump to the original post about that car or truck.

1919 Ford	1924 Ford	1932 Ford	1945 Ford
1950 Ford	1950 Ford	1954 Ford	1955 Mercury
1956 Lincoln	1956 Ford	1960 Mercury	1960 Ford
1961 Ford	1962 Ford	1963 Ford	1963 Ford
1964 Ford	1964 Mercury	1964 Ford	1965 Mercury
1965 Ford	1965 Ford	1965 Mercury	1965 Ford
1965 Ford	1965 Ford	1965 Ford	1965 Ford
1966 Ford	1966 Lincoln	1966 Ford	1966 Ford
1966 Ford	1966 Ford	1966 Ford	1967 Ford
1967 Mercury	1967 Ford	1967 Ford	1968 Mercury
1968 Ford	1968 Ford </td	1968 Ford	1969 Mercury
1969 Ford	1969 Ford	1969 Lincoln	1969 Ford
1969 Mercury	1969 Ford	1969 Ford	1970 Ford
1970 Ford	1970 Lincoln	1970 Ford	1970 Ford
1971 Ford	1972 Lincoln	1972 Mercury	1973 Mercury
1973 Ford	1973 Ford	1973 Mercury	1973 Ford
1973 Ford	1974 Ford	1974 Ford	1974 Ford
1975 Ford	1975 Mercury	1976 Ford	1977 Ford
1977 Lincoln	1977 Ford	1977 Ford	1979 Ford
1979 Ford	1986 Ford	1986 Ford	1987 Merkur

When you're done here, you can follow the links below to see the rest of the Down On The Street 450 (actually more like 491 by now) celebration:

You might notice that there's no Vanishing Point Challenger, no Two Lane Blacktop '55 Chevy or GTO, no Road Warrior Falcon, no French Connection Pontiac LeMans, and so on; you can go anywhere to find those admittedly deserving machines in a Top Movie Cars list… but you're in for something a little different when your Rambler clanks into my drive-in!

Fee Waybill's 1968 Plymouth Sport Satellite
Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, 1981. Just look at this evil '68 Satellite, driven by the character played by Tubes mastermind Fee Waybill in the nearly-forgotten punk classic starring Diane Lane.
Stacey Keach's 1972 AMC Matador
Up In Smoke, 1978. Some folks might try to tell you that Cheech's '64 Impala is the automotive star of this all-time Malaise Era classic, but those same guys will sell you a bag of "Acapulco Gold" that turns out to be oregano. Sergeant Stedenko's unmarked Kenosha sedan, take a bow!
Isaac Hayes' Cadillac Fleetwood
Escape From New York, 1981. An apocalyptic Caddy with chandeliers on the fenders, in jail, being driven across a mine-studded bridge by Isaac Hayes? Why the hell didn't Cadillac issue a chandelier-equipped Escape From New York Edition Cadillac?
Barbara Stanwyck's 1937 LaSalle
Double Indemnity, 1944. It's taking all my willpower to avoid stacking this list with nothing but film noir cars- for example, the cop '49 Ford stalking Sterling Hayden in the opening sequence of Asphalt Jungle- but there's no way we can neglect this LaSalle, which features in the greatest post-murder-victim-body-dump 'car won't start' sequence in cinema history.
Robert Mitchum's 1950 Ford
Thunder Road, 1958. That ol' dope-smoking Bob Mitchum won't let the '57 Chevy-drivin' revenoors catch his triple-carbed Ford, no way! You'll get some nice closeup shots of the triple-carbed overhead-valve Ford V8 in this excellent car movie.
All 250 Vehicles In The Final Sequence Of Used Cars
Used Cars, 1980. The greatest Malaise Era movie of all time! You'll see everything from an early Bronco to a Fiat 128 burning rubber in the final ten minutes of this Kurt Russell classic.
Mel Gibson's 1994 Chevrolet Caprice
Conspiracy Theory, 1997. A movie in which Crazy Mel delivers the line "It's time someone lifted the festering scab that is the Vatican" is already starting off on the right foot, but his awesomely evil Caprice cab sets a new standard for scary movie taxis.
Harvey Keitel's 1972 Imperial LeBaron
Mean Streets, 1973. What do low-level mob associates drive in Early Malaise New York City? Exactly. Spoiler: this car doesn't get a happy ending.
Reese Witherspoon's 1967 Dodge Coronet Wagon
Freeway, 1996. This movie features cynicism galore, a nightmarish Danny Elfman soundtrack, Brooke Shields sticking a gun in her mouth and pulling the trigger… and this beautifully wretched Coronet wagon, the crapping out of which starts Witherspoon's character on her Red Riding Hood-esque adventures. Murilee says check it out!
Bette Davis' 1947 Lincoln
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane, 1962. Yeah, so I like my movies dark and cynical- you got a problem with that? Davis' character, Baby Jane Hudson, uses this reminder-of-past-glory luxury machine to haul her crippled sister to her death on the Santa Monica beach.
Ronald Reagan's 1959 Ford
The Killers, 1964. Man, imagine having an actor become governor of California! Watching The Great Communicator- in this case, playing a criminal mastermind plotting a mail-truck heist- hoon this gigantic boxy Ford down a dirt road while wearing the same exact suit he wore as President… well, I'm shopping for '59 Fords now!
Dick Rude's 1976 Toyota Corolla
Repo Man, 1984. I'm going to go on record stating that Repo Man is the Greatest Car Movie Of All Time, and that choosing one car to honor in this list was quite difficult. I've read the screenplay many times, and it's telling that Alex Cox specified the exact year, make, and model of every car to be used in the film (and, in most cases, those are the cars that were used during the production). The red Eldorado? The Government Agents' Matador? The Malibu? I'm going to give the honor to the "get sushi and not pay" gang's very punk Toyota… and that reminds me that I've committed a grievous mistake by omitting the Torino from Suburbia in this list. Well, next one!
John Lurie's 1965 Dodge Coronet 440
Stranger Than Paradise, 1984. What's the best possible car for a pair of small-time gamblers to drive from New York to Cleveland to Florida during the winter in 1984? Jim Jarmusch knows!
Rodney Dangerfield's 1966 Mulliner Park Ward Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III
Caddyshack, 1980. What car best epitomizes bad taste and conspicuous consumption, Middle Malaise Era style? Sure, a Zimmer might have worked just as well, but a Mulliner Park Ward Silver Cloud is just as horrifying and ten times as expensive!
Matt Dillon's 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood
Drugstore Cowboy, 1990. When you're ripping off drugstores for that good pharmaceutical-grade junk during the Nixon Era in the Pacific Northwest, there's no better ride.
Billy Bob Thornton's 1940 Dodge Coupe
The Man Who Wasn't There, 2001. Of all the Coen Brothers' films- which show excellent taste in vehicular selection- I settled on this one as my favorite. Tough choice, and I almost went with the '85 Cutlass Ciera in Fargo, or the detective's Beetle in Blood Simple.
Roger Sloman's Morris Minor 1000 Convertible
Nuts In May, 1976. This annoying little car is so perfectly suited to Sloman's fingernails-on-chalkboard character that it's impossible to imagine him driving anything else.
Gloria Swanson's Isotta-Fraschini
Sunset Boulevard, 1950. Wicker bodywork. Leopard skin upholstery. 800 feet total length. Best of all, a golden telephone to speak to the driver!
Burt Reynolds' 1972 Citroën SM
The Longest Yard, 1974. A drunk-driven SM being chased by Malaise Era Mopars, with Burt Reynolds at the wheel and Lynyrd Skynyrd on the radio. Enough said!
Ömer Simsek's Opel Manta
Manta, Manta, 1991. As any longtime Jalopnik reader knows, we have a sick love for the Opel Manta, otherwise known as "the German Camaro." Here's one of the many, many gorgeous Mantas from the German film Manta, Manta.
Image source: Automobilsport

Just click on any of the thumbnails below to jump to the original post about that car.

1937 Beardmore	1953 Citroën	1956 Morris	1959 Morris
1960 Peugeot	1960 Triumph	1961 Morris	1963 Land Rover
1965 Austin	1965 Alfa Romeo	1966 Jaguar	1966 Lancia
1966 Volvo	1969 MG	1969 Volvo	1969 Volvo
1969 Citroën	1970 Volvo	1971 Volvo	1971 MG
1972 Triumph	1972 Steyr	1973 Volvo	1973 MG
1974 Jensen-Healey	1975 Citroën	1975 MG	1977 Fiat
1977 Volvo	1978 Jaguar	1978 Saab	1980 Volvo
1981 Fiat	1982 Fiat	1984 Jaguar	1985 Alfa Romeo
1985 Saab	1985 Peugeot	1986 Jaguar	1988 Renault
1988 Peugeot	1989 Ferrari	1989 Alfa Romeo	1991 Peugeot
1991 Alfa Romeo	1991 Rolls-Royce

The Maserati-powered Model T definitely made an impression at the last Billetproof Nor-Cal, which is totally understandable. After all, the [flawless Model A, B, or T] + [Chevy or Ford OHV V8] formula has been done so often and so well that you need a body machined from pure plutonium to really stand out these days, while the [rusty-ass ancient non-Ford] + [weird yet hypnotically cool engine] formula still offers plenty of fun for each pint of blood you spill in the Hell Garage. Tonight, we're going to look at a total of nine possible vehicle+engine combos, any one of which would draw vast crowds of Bettie Page lookalikes at the next Billetproof. Hear the rusty iron doors of the Hell Garage swinging open for you? Once closed, they'll be welded shut until you're done... or insane!

Every time I see the amazing DOTS '47 Plymouth rumbling through my neighborhood, I realize anew that old suicide-door Plymouth sedans let you roll in the purest Hell Garage style. Affordable examples are quite easy to find in diamond-in-the-rough condition, too. Say f'r'example, this 1937 Plymouth sedan, which has a no-doubt-negotiable $1,000 price tag. The patina is already perfect, and the "toast" interior should be viewed as an opportunity to commission a special burlap-and-studded-pleather extravaganza!

It's tough to argue with the appeal of a 62-year-old sedan, but an elderly pickup made by a farm equipment manufacturer might make you forget all about that Plymouth. This '38 IHC pickup, which has been sitting in an Iowa field since Syngman Rhee was in office, has the perfect paint finish for Billetproof stardom, though we're not sure that "no bullet holes" is really a selling point. No matter, though- you can always make your own bullet holes!

Sedans? Trucks? Don't forget station wagons! Sure, you'd like a two-door wagon, and a Ford Ranch Wagon would be an excellent choice... but even that might veer uncomfortably close to the overchromed aesthetic behind those hyper-sanitary Chevy Nomads we see at mainstream car shows. Don't worry, because LeMons Rabbit racer Casadelshawn has tipped us off about this Opel Olympia Caravan, which is priced right in LeMons territory... which isn't relevant, because you know that mini-Euro-Nomad will be just the car to receive the engine of your deepest fears dreams! And, speaking of engines...

Now that you've picked out your chassis, what would you say to a 317-horse, DOHC/4-valve aluminum V8 that should be making good power until the Sun goes supernova? You can get this Nissan VK56DE out of a Nissan Titan pickup for well under two grand, though you'll need to spend many a few more bucks setting it up with an octet of Weber carbs and some sort of transmission.

A Nissan 5.6 liter V8 would be fun, but imagine all the wild Teutonic Maltese-cross decor you could put on your Opel, Plymouth, or IHC if you were to drop a Mercedes-Benz 5.6 liter V8 into the engine compartment? An M117, freshly torn from the still-twitching corpse of a big ol' Cocaine Dealer Grade 560SEL, would be just the ticket, and here's a 69,000-mile specimen for a mere 710 bucks! You'll need to ditch that irritatingly modern fuel-injection system and replace it with some carburetors, of course, and we recommend a homemade pipe-organ-style intake manifold made from galvanized plumbing fittings and sucking fuel from as many updraft Cessna carburetors as you can obtain. Then you'll start your junkyard quest for a functional junkyard transmission. How hard could it be?

Is there some rule that states you've got to have a V8? No? Well, how about one of GM's coolest engines ever, a high-performance inline six that struggled to get attention while in the shadow of big-inch monster V8s during the Muscle Car Golden Age? Yes, we mean the Pontiac OHC six-cylinder, which was a Chevrolet 230 or 250 six equipped with a futuristic (for 1960s Detroit) belt-driven overhead-cam cylinder head. The high-performance Sprint version, installed in regrettably few Firebirds and Tempests, could hold its own against V8s with vastly more displacement... but real Sprints are hard to find. No problem, though, because you can build your own Sprint from this Pontiac OHC 250, which is sitting with a top bid of just 150 bucks.

Ready to decide? Let's vote!

That's what we see in this high-production-value stop-motion film made for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Just come to the "Frozen Forest" or the "Bamboo Grove" to see the latest Chryslers, Dodges, and DeSotos!


[BoingBoing, thanks to Jamie for the tip!]

You figure it's going to look like Caddy Day at the pool, right? Unfortunately, the five LeMons veterans (including the Autobahn Racing BMW 2002, the Flakes' 'Chevolvo' Volvo 244, the Faster Farms Plymouth Belvedere, the Ecurie Ecrappe Alfa Romeo Spider, and the Mille Miglia Alfa Romeo Alfetta) were ghettoized in a parking lot, apart from the Rolls-Royces and Ferraris. "We're ghettoized because we are ghetto," explained LeMons Chief Perpetrator Jay Lamm.

Also parked with the LeMons machines was the best beater Aston Martin ever, complete with spinner-removin' Hammer Of Thor mounted underhood. The folks in the crowd- those who trekked over to the bad side of the tracks, at any rate- weren't quite sure what to make of the veteran racing machines, but someday their authentic racing provenance will see them selling for millions of Plutonium Krugerrands at Barrett-Jackson.

Meanwhile, the PA was manned by a guy with an English accent so refined ("…be aware, ladies and gentlemen, that the word Jag-yoo-ah does not contain the letter ahhhh") that we became convinced that he probably grew up in the infamous Red Phosphorus Acres Trailer Park in Lodi, and the San Francisco 49ers Cheerleaders were on hand to add a surreal note to the proceedings. Some pretty cool iron was there in on the grass, including a perfect Kaiser-Darrin, a 427/4-speed Galaxie 500, and a showroom-condition Citroën Traction-Avant. I got enough shots for some gallery action:

Watch as that Model B flies up Fish Ranch Road (which looks exactly the same today) in top gear, and check out that cool tracking shot through the dealership- why, you can even catch a glimpse of the closer sweating a customer into signing on the line that is dotted! Thanks to Maxichamp for the tip!

We'll start off with an octet from Discontinuuity, who has a knack for finding some great machinery down on the streets of the home of Coors: Golden, Colorado. Discontinuuity brought us these eight Golden vehicles plus this dignified Golden Mercedes-Benz Ponton a while back, and now we've got another round for you:

Nova Station Wagon: I've got a couple of good DOTS cars here for you. First up is a 1962 (or maybe '63) Chevrolet Nova station wagon gasser. I talked to the owner, Mike, who also owns a 1946 Austin hot rod and takes both cars out to the local Bandimere Speedway for Wednesday night drag races. The Chevy sports a 327 small block, not the stock I6, and has a killer stance in my opinion. More photos of an IH Scout coming soon.
International Harvester Scout: About a block away from the Chevy was this International Harvester Scout in fairly good condition. All I know is that it's driven by a School of Mines student and that it was probably built between 1965 and 1970.
Subaru Leone: I finally got around to photographing this Subaru today. From what I can tell, it was made between 1975 and 1978 and has every Malaise-tastic tape stripe and chrome option checked off (along with "5 speeds" and "Front Wheel Drive"). It looks like a pretty competent little daily driver though. Now I just need pictures of the much rustier BRAT last spotted at Taco Bell.
Volkwsagen Beetle: I saw the Beetle you posted for DOTS a few days ago with the engine cover propped open, and it reminded me that I needed to photograph this flat-black Beetle. I'm not sure of the year; it's probably from the mid 70s. Whatever the vintage, I think it captures the spirit of a college car pretty well: the Libertarian party bumper stickers, subtle yet somewhat half-assed mods, and the pile of crap where the back seat used to be. You also might note that it's parked on Illinois St, right in front of the MG from the original DOTS Golden post.
Toyota Starlet: I saw this Starlet parked on the street while on my way to a friend's house, and knowing the love that many Jalops have for the little Toyota I had to snap a few pictures. From what Wikipedia tells me this is an 81-84 model, and from what the bumper sticker and rust can tell me this little car has been driven hard through Alaska and Colorado since the Reagan years.
Ford Model A: I hope I'm not sending you too many photos from Golden, but I couldn't pass up this great vintage-styled hot rod I saw in a parking lot today. It's a 1931 Ford Model A (although the owner wasn't sure exactly what year it is, the title is for '31) with a chopped top, a 302 Ford V8, and some sweet pinstriping, all sitting on a '32 Ford frame and bias plys. I love all of the little details like the structural wood and fabric in the roof, flat green paint, dropped axle with hairpins, and the lakes-style pipes. Probably one of the oldest cars I've seen around Golden this year, and definitely one of the coolest.
Ford Thunderbird: I've got a couple more DOTSBE cars here for ya. The first is a beat to hell old Thunderbird I caught being transported on a flatbed, parked in front of this creepy industrial building. Whether its destiny is a full restoration or The Crusher, we can only guess.
Volkswagen Transporter: The second car is a newer VW Bus with a wikkid flame paint job, photographed near where I found the MG previously. The paint and aftermarket exhaust give it cool points in my book; however it also looses a few points because of the PRNDL between the seats. From the stickers on the back window, I infer that the owner (or previous owner) is a Christian, works on power lines, and has been a student at the Colorado School of Mines for the last three years or so.

Well, you might keep shop manuals on your coffee table, but that would make you the kind of scarily focused gearhead who also keeps a couple of engine blocks in the kitchen. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but Haynes also puts out this… this four-pound slab of concentrated essence of car pr0n, and- now that you're aware of its existence- your life without it will seem as grim and flavorless as the sawdust-enhanced sausage ration in Vladivostok, 1949. It sure as hell isn't cheap, so those of you with a birthday coming up are advised to start dropping some very strong gift-idea hints to your loved ones right now. The rest of you will have to cough up the rubles on your own, but it will be worth it.



From the Ford clones of the 1920s and 1930s (starting with a copy of the Model A and continuing with the modified-for-Soviet-conditions Model B-based M1 shown above), the USSR was making cars and trucks from its earliest days. While some were based on foreign designs (the Opel Kadett-based early Moskvich and Fiat-based Lada being a couple of famous examples), many were all-Soviet projects.


Thompson's book covers all the major lines of Soviet cars and light trucks, including the GAZ Pobedas and Volgas, the ZIL limousines, the beloved Zaporozhets, and a bunch of acronymic vehicles we decadent Westerners have never heard of.


Vehicles manufactured according to the demands of a planned economy (in a nation whose rough roads cover 11 time zones and every crazy weather condition imaginable) were designed with different priorities than those found in the capitalist automotive world, and this book does an excellent job describing how those priorities worked during the Soviet period.


Things really got interesting during the Brezhnev era, during which the USSR's need for hard currency, coupled with the rise of inflation in the West, led to large-scale exports of Soviet-made vehicles. In early-70s Britain, car buyers could pick up a brand-new Moskvich 412 sedan for £717, which was £22 cheaper than a Mini and only £3 less than the wretched Hillman Imp. Many did, though some scary crash-test results took a big bite out of UK Moskvich sales. And, as Teargas has proven with his LeMons car, plenty of Ladas made it to Canada a few years later.


Thompson pays attention to Soviet racing achievements, from the early rally days to late-Soviet Lada hoonage. The machines of UAZ, IZH, RAF, etc., are here as well, with the story continuing to the end of the Soviet Union and a little beyond.

This one earns a five-rod rating (five being the highest rating, in honor of the most reliable automobile engine ever made), plus Bonus Balalaika for sheer Hero Of The Soviet Union-grade awesomeness. Murilee says check it out!

[Motorbooks]

I don't have my reference guides handy, so I can't ID the 20s or 30s sedan used as the basis for this street rod. It's definitely not the kind of thing you see very often parked on the street!

Found this in San Francisco (not very far from Alameda) at the corner of Fillmore and Laussat...I don't even know what it is. Sorry about the poor quality...my camera's not very good at night.

In 1960, Allegheny-Ludlum and Ford built a pair of stainless steel Thunderbirds. Perhaps best of all, they made three stainless steel 1967 Lincoln Continental convertibles. These are solid stainless steel cars, not the steel-laminated plastic of the De Lorean DMC-12, and all but two of the '36s survive to this day. Check out the Allegheny-Ludlum site on the cars and the Michigan Lincoln & Continental Club site for the whole story. Thanks to VintageRacer and 57Sweptside for the tip!

Yes, folks, this is the most expensive vehicle for sale in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds (speaking of which, do yourselves a favor and check out the stuff at Hemmings Auto Blogs- which is like mainlining the uncut stuff if you're a car junkie- when you're done here). It lives just a few miles from me, over at Fantasy Junction, and the guys selling it are the same ones who ran the not-quite-as-valuable BMW 633CSi at the Arse Freeze-A-Palooza 24 Hours Of LeMons. It's one of two Spohn-bodied convertibles made, it's powered by an airplane engine, and it evaded destruction by the RAF, the Eighth Air Force, the Red Army, and- most dangerous of all- the Rust Monster. You can have it… for three-and-a-half mil! Reasonable price, or would you need to fortify yourself over at Booth Number Two to see it that way?
[Hemmings Motor News, Fantasy Junction]

There are the projects that make your friends shake their heads in awe, and then there are the ones that just make them shake their heads, period. You lock yourself in the Hell Garage and tell yourself that the stench of sulfur is perfectly normal. We had a pair of old Lincolns win the last Choose Your Eternity poll, so we're going to see if Ford's luxury marque can keep the string going… against one of the most ridiculous- yet coolest- project trucks we've ever seen.

I prefer to use the CAPS LOCK key sparingly, if at all, but sometimes there's just no choice but to apply it to the name of a Hell Project. When you take a four-wheel-drive chassis from a one-off Alaskan snowplow and perch the body of a 404 Unimog on top: behold the might of MOGZILLA! We're not looking at your usual silly-body-bolted-onto-Blazer-chassis deal here; why, that wouldn't even be particularly hellish! These days, MOGZILLA doesn't quite look as nice as it did when the photos in the listing were taken (and wouldn't you know it, the seller can't seem to provide any shots of its current appearance), because… well, there was a little mishap: "While attempting to set a world record for longest water crossing in a monster truck (dont ask me, I had nothing to do with it) the truck got stuck in the Hudson river in NY and the running gear got water in it and eventually froze up and busted the rear axle gears. The owner tried to replace the rear axle with one from a U.S. Deuce and a Half truck, but to find out that it turned the opposite direction of the existing drivetrain. So now it sits." Right, so it's a mystery Alaskan snowplow chassis- the secrets of which are probably buried in a hole in the permafrost- with an equally mysterious (and dead) drivetrain that rotates in the wrong direction, and the body of a vehicle so beloved by its aficionados that they won't be able to restrain themselves from attempting to tear your throat out with their teeth the moment they see your monstrosity. No problem! Thanks to Ben for the tip.

Sometimes there's a project car that so embodies both sides of the totally cool/totally hell PCH philosophy that its appearance on eBay triggers a disturbance in the Van Allen Belt, jolting hundreds of Hell Project addicts from their slumbers and triggering a phenomenon known as Optimism In The Face Of Eternal Vehicular Torment Disorder (OITFOEVTD). OITFOEVTD- which should be included in the DSM any day now- causes its sufferers to believe that they are capable of bringing the most hopeless Hell Projects back to life, and this early-40s customized Lincoln is such a project. Within hours of its appearance online, I had several tips on it- thanks, guys!- and no doubt many of the rest of you are cursing me for bringing in even more bidding competition for your nightmare dream project. It's a 1941 Lincoln Custom limo chassis with a heavily customized body, which the seller theorizes was built between the mid 1940s and the early 1950s. A lot of talk about possible appearances in car magazines of that period follows in the description, but the upshot is that nobody seems to know the real history of this car… which doesn't keep it from having a reserve price of $17,900. It's got a Ford flathead V8 in it now, but of course it should be powered by a Lincoln V12, regardless of the dictates of 1947 hot-rodding fashion (if the brain worms noshed the last remaining specks of my rational mind and I purchased this fine machine, I'd immediately start shopping for a GMC Twin Six… and a bulletproof vest to protect me from whatever scary variety of purist would insist on this thing remaining Ford-powered). The seller seems to think it will be an easy project and implies that owning it would make even Billy Gibbons hisself look at his own collection and shake his head in despair. Of course! You can't go wrong here!

Actually, the collection of links below contains 402 cars and trucks, so you get a couple of extra DOTS machines for your enjoyment; just click on any of the thumbnails and you'll go straight to a big photo gallery of that car or truck, plus digression-laden commentary by yours truly. New to the series? Check out the DOTS FAQ.

1932 Ford	1937 Cadillac	1939 Chevrolet	1941 Chevrolet	1942 Pontiac	1943 IHC
1945 Ford	1946 Chevrolet	1947 Plymouth	1948 IHC	1950 Dodge	1950 Ford
1950 Ford	1950 Plymouth	1950 Pontiac	1951 Dodge	1952 Dodge	1953 GMC
1952 Dodge	1953 Packard	1953 Citroën	1954 Chevrolet	1954 Ford	1955 Mercury
1955 Plymouth	1956 Chevrolet	1956 Imperial	1956 Lincoln	1956 Volkswagen	1956 Morris
1956 Willys	1956 Ford	1957 Volkswagen	1957 Cadillac	1957 Chevrolet	1957 Chrysler
1957 Pontiac	1958 Mercedes-Benz	1959 Porsche	1959 Morris	1959 Volkswagen	1959 Volkswagen
1960 Cadillac	1960 Cadillac	1960 Cadillac	1960 Peugeot	1960 Triumph	1960 Mercury
1960 Ford	1960 Studebaker	1960 Chevrolet	1960 Volkswagen	1961 Plymouth	1961 Morris
1961 Rambler	1961 Ford	1961 Plymouth	1962 Chrysler	1962 Chevrolet	1962 Dodge
1962 Ford	1962 Chrysler	1962 Volkswagen	1963 Chevrolet	1963 Ford	1963 Ford
1963 Chevrolet	1963 Chevrolet	1963 Chevrolet	1963 GMC	1963 Porsche	1964 Volkswagen
1964 Studebaker	1964 Volkswagen	1964 Checker	1964 Chrysler	1964 Ford	1964 Imperial
1964 Mercury	1964 Dodge	1964 Ford	1964 Oldsmobile	1964 Dodge	1965 Austin Cooper S
1965 Volkswagen	1965 Chevrolet	1965 Mercury	1965 Volkswagen	1965 Plymouth	1965 Chevrolet
1965 Volkswagen	1965 Ford	1965 Plymouth	1965 Ford	1965 IHC	1965 Chevrolet
1965 Chevrolet	1965 Mercury	1965 Dodge	1965 Ford	1965 Chevrolet	1965 Chevrolet
1965 Ford	1965 Rambler	1965 Ford	1965 Ford	1966 Lincoln	1966 Ford
1966 Ford	1966 Dodge	1965 Mercedes-Benz	1966 Pontiac	1966 Dodge	1966 Datsun
1966 GMC	1966 Jaguar	1966 Lancia	1966 Volkswagen	1966 Mercedes-Benz	1966 Chevrolet
1966 Mercedes-Benz	1966 Ford	1966 Buick	1966 Volkswagen	1966 Volvo	1967 Ford
1967 Mercury	1967 Plymouth	1967 Porsche	1967 Imperial	1967 Galaxie	1967 Volkswagen
1967 Porsche	1967 Oldsmobile	1968 Plymouth	1968 Mercury	1968 Mercedes-Benz	1968 Mercedes-Benz
1968 Ford	1968 GMC	1968 Pontiac	1968 Ford	1968 Porsche	1968 Ford
1968 Buick	1969 Dodge	1969 AMC	1969 Chevrolet	1969 Volkswagen	1969 Volkswagen
1969 Mercury	1969 Chevrolet	1969 Ford	1969 Cadillac	1969 Ford	1969 Buick
1969 Volkswagen	1969 Chevrolet	1969 Cadillac	1969 Cadillac	1969 Chevrolet	1969 Lincoln
1969 Oldsmobile	1969 Dodge	1969 Dodge	1969 Datsun	1969 Ford	1969 Ford
1969 Buick	1969 MG	1969 Ford	1969 Chevrolet	1969 Cadillac	1969 Volvo
1969 Volvo	1970 Ford	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Ford	1970 Chrysler	1970 Cadillac
1970 Dodge	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Lincoln	1970 Dodge	1970 Volkswagen
1970 Ford	1970 Ford	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Chevrolet	1970 Porsche	1970 Dodge
1970 Puma	1970 Buick	1970 Volvo	1970 Volkswagen	1971 Datsun	1971 Volvo
1971 Datsun	1971 Chevrolet	1971 Chevrolet	1971 Chrysler	1971 Imperial	1971 Chrysler
1971 Datsun	1971 Ford	1971 GMC	1971 Volkswagen	1971 Toyota	1971 Buick
1971 Chevrolet	1971 MG	1971 Plymouth	1971 Plymouth	1972 Mercedes-Benz	1972 BMW
1972 Volkswagen	1972 BMW	1972 IHC	1972 IHC	1972 Volkswagen	1972 Porsche
1972 Chevrolet	1972 Plymouth	1972 Lincoln	1972 Mercury	1972 Steyr	1973 BMW
1973 Volkswagen	1973 Mercury	1973 Opel	1973 Buick	1973 Chevrolet	1973 Volvo
1973 Capri	1973 Chevrolet	1973 Chevrolet	1973 Mercury	1973 Datsun	1973 Ford
1973 Pontiac	1973 Mercedes-Benz	1973 MG	1973 Ford	1973 Buick	1973 Plymouth
1973 Chevrolet	1973 Volkswagen	1973 Volkswagen	1973 Volkswagen	1973 BMW	1974 Buick
1974 Chevrolet	1974 Volkswagen	1974 Chevrolet	1974 BMW	1974 Chevrolet	1974 Datsun
1974 Ford	1974 Ford	1974 Porsche	1974 Porsche	1974 Plymouth	1974 Volkswagen
1974 Ford	1975 BMW	1975 Datsun	1975 Ford	1975 Toyota	1975 Citroën
1975 Mercury	1975 Chevrolet	1975 Pontiac	1975 Chevrolet	1975 BMW	1975 Dodge
1976 Ford	1976 AMC	1976 Buick	1975 Unimog	1976 Honda	1976 Cadillac
1976 IHC	1976 Buick	1977 Ford	1977 Chevrolet	1977 Plymouth	1977 Honda
1977 Chevrolet	1977 Chevrolet	1977 Toyota	1977 Toyota	1977 Lincoln	1977 Ford
1977 Fiat	1977 Ford	1977 IHC	1977 Chevrolet	1977 Oldsmobile	1977 Oldsmobile
1977 Volvo	1978 Datsun	1978 Chrysler	1978 Honda	1978 Pontiac	1978 Dodge
1978 Dodge	1978 Dodge	1978 Cadillac	1978 Jaguar	1978 Saab	1978 Pontiac
1978 Chevrolet	1979 Mercedes-Benz	1979 Porsche	1979 Porsche	1979 Chevrolet	1979 Datsun
1979 Honda	1979 Ford	1979 Ford	1979 Cadillac	1979 Shay	1980 Porsche
1980 Plymouth	1980 Datsun	1980 Plymouth	1980 IHC	1980 Volvo	1981 Datsun
1981 Volkswagen	1981 Mazda	1981 Fiat	1982 Mercedes-Benz	1982 Datsun	1982 Mercedes-Benz
1982 BMW	1982 Mazda	1982 Toyota	1982 Fiat	1983 Honda	1983 BMW
1983 Toyota	1983 BMW	1983 BMW	1983 Jeep	1983 Volkswagen	1983 Nissan
1983 Toyota	1984 Porsche	1984 Toyota	1984 Cadillac	1984 Toyota	1984 Jeep
1984 BMW	1984 Toyota	1984 Jaguar	1984 Toyota	1984 Plymouth	1985 Alfa Romeo
1985 Toyota	1985 Cadillac	1985 Mazda	1985 Pontiac	1985 Volkswagen	1985 Saab
1985 Toyota	1985 Toyota	1985 Peugeot	1985 Porsche	1986 Dodge	1986 BMW
1986 Toyota	1986 Toyota	1986 Ford	1986 Jaguar	1986 Toyota	1986 Dodge
1986 Honda	1986 Pontiac	1986 Ford	1987 Porsche	1987 BMW	1987 Mercedes-Benz
1987 Volkswagen	1987 BMW	1987 Honda	1987 Toyota	1987 Merkur	1987 Mitsubishi
1987 Subaru	1988 Porsche	1988 CMC	1988 Renault	1988 Mitsubishi	1989 Ferrari
1989 Alfa Romeo	1989 Chevrolet	1989 Volkswagen	1991 Peugeot	1991 Alfa Romeo	2000 Fieroborghini